How many people can honestly tell me that when undertaking the increasingly unpleasant task of grocery shopping, they have never had the slightest inclination to slap someone else's child?
How many people have never uttered or heard uttered the words "if that were my child..." ?
Has it escaped everyone else's attention that whenever a government scandal is unearthed involving the safety of UK children, the question over the legality of smacking becomes a big issue? Does it appear to anyone else that during a time when the government should perhaps feel guilt and remorse over the possible harm to which they may have exposed our children, they instead decide to turn it around to us?
Whoever is in charge of controlling the propaganda of the government should come up with a new tactic. Ok, admittedly it works - the question of smacking arose within the media, and the media frenzy focused upon the lack of names on
list 99 dispersed with only the sparsest of catch up stories - but it would still be nice to be challenged occasionally. It just doesn't seem right to me that the government can deflect the feeling of guilt onto parents who are being pulled in a hundred different directions at once. The government made a mistake and they should face it, not pass it on.
I was appalled when Tony Blair told the media circus that he "always regretted" smacking his three oldest children. Why should he regret it? Is that not again sending out the wrong message to people, people who are always being criticised for the youth of today, people who are apparently not instilling in their children a sense of right or wrong? How can they direct their children when they themselves are not only being pulled in conflicting directions, but in many cases are still children themselves.
When my brothers and I were young (although even now if I'm honest) when we did something wrong, we were smacked by our parents. I understand the reason as to why they did this and don't hate them for it. Infact as I look around at the teenage population today I am glad they did, if they had not, I too may have been part of the mindless violence, drinking and vandalism that appears to now be the 'culture' of the UK.
I personally think that smacking is a good thing. Yes, there are other ways in which to discipline a child, but these can lead to a child becoming confused as they are not yet emotionally ready to play the psychological games required for the methods to be successful. When used in moderation, slapping is an effective teaching method.
Do something wrong, get smacked, child thinks "I'm not gonna do that again".
There is a difference between beating/abusing a child and smacking a child and as usual it is both the government and the media that are blowing things out of all proportion. Yes I understand that in cases of child abuse the perpetrator may claim that it was only a little smack, but the bruises prove otherwise.
The police force has little control and power in modern society due to its lack of power and the stricter guidelines by which it must follow. This surely means that punishment and control is now a parental responsibility - how can parents be expected to do this when they themselves face the threat of jail?
Labels: culture, generation, government, punishment, smacking
